In the August Author Spotlight ...
Josephine Alvarez, Author of
Lucky "325"

 

Imagine being brought up a "good Catholic girl" in a convent, spending 6 years of your life living with nuns and only seeing your parents for a few hours on the weekends. From the ages of 6 to 12, this is exactly what author Josephine Alvarez did. Years later, she went from one extreme to the other, living her life as a burlesque queen and a Mafia bride. In her new book, Lucky "325", Josephine shares her stories of nuns, mobsters and the burlesque life.

"I believed one’s life is predestined.  Nothing is chance," Josephine says. "From an innocent virgin angel, to a “Burlesque Queen,” (stage name “Sofina”) to jet-setting with the mafia underworld, and living a queen’s life with kings, that was my life."

Josephine was born Friday, March 13, 1941 at Knickerbockers Hospital in New York City.  "My parents were not wealthy," she says, "but Daddy played the numbers.  He had a “standing bet,” meaning that every day his “bookie” would play the numbers “3-2-5” for him, and as sheer luck had come his way, the bookmaker played the numbers “3-2-5”, making Daddy an instant winner.  I’ll never know how much money it was, but it was enough to sent my brother Eugene and I to prestigious private school, Saint John’s Villa Academy." For 6 years, Josephine attended school and spent time with the nuns. "I enjoyed convent life," she says. "It taught me to stand on my own two feet."

At the age of 12, she returned home and was thrust into the middle of a sophisticated city, surrounded by hustlers, hookers, moguls, and magnates.  "I might as well have stepped into another planet," she says. "I was actually attracted to this 'other side of the street'. I needed it to take me to my adult life."

Josephine's trip to the other side continued. At the age of 18, she began performing in burlesque reviews under the name "Sofina." She also met many a "made man", including Santos Trafficante (Tampa’s Mob Boss), Tommy ‘The Gimp’ and Joseph ‘Possum’ Nesline. "I moved freely in-between the famous and the infamous, always being protected by powerful men who wouldn't blink an eye ordering the execution of many others," she said. "What allowed me to enter this domain and not fear for my safety? It was meant to be... "

Josephine would go on to marry Joseph Nesline on August 1, 1966. The marriage certificate number was also number 325. "After ten exciting and tumulus years of our relationship, I divorced Joe in 1974. He died October 23, 1995 of natural causes in the nursing home," she explains.

Josephine Alvarez now resides in Hollywood, Florida. She is an astrologer, stock broker and real estate broker as well a retired burlesque queen.